nder of the college
here as elsewhere in this work.

The deed of Mr. Joshua More, conveying two acres of land with
buildings attached, was dated July 17, 1755, a short time previous to
his death. Mr. Wheelock now placed himself in confidential relations
with two eminent lawyers in New York, William Smith, and his son
William Smith, Jr., the latter of whom, perhaps, may be said to have
left his impress upon the Constitution of the United States, through
his distinguished pupil, Gouverneur Morris. The correspondence, at
first, seems to have been chiefly with Mr. Smith, Senior. August 6,
1755, he writes to Mr. Wheelock: "The means for the accomplishment of
so charitable a design seem at present very imperfect." He suggests,
that there is "no incorporation" of Mr. Wheelock and the other
gentlemen to whom Mr. More conveyed the property; that the deed
contains "no consideration;" and that the estate is at most only "for
life." He advises Mr. Wheelock, at least, to procure a better deed,
which was afterwards executed by Mrs. More. The death of Mr.
Wheelock's most influential and valuable associate trustee,
ex-President Williams, only a few days after the conveyance by Mr.
More, was a severe loss, and a temporary embarrassment to his
associates. But Mr. Wheelock determined to proceed in his efforts for
an incorporation, relying mainly upon the dictates of his own judgment
for direction. After the lapse of some five years, in February, 1760,
he gives the results to Mr. Smith, in language of which the following
is the substance: "We sent home some years ago for the royal favor of
a Charter. Lord Halifax approved the design, but [to save expense]
advised, instead of a Charter, the establishment of the school by a
law of Connecticut Colony, and promised that when sent there it should
be ratified in Council, which he supposed would be as sufficient as
any act there. Hereupon I attended our Assembly, in May, 1758, with a
memorial, the prayer of which was granted by the House of
Representatives; the Governor and Council negatived it, upon the
ground that their action would not be valid, if ratified in England,
beyond this Colony, and that a corporation within a corporation might
be troublesome, as Yale College had sometimes been. I am since
informed that the Earl of Dartmouth has promised, if the matter shall
be put into a proper channel, to undertake and go through with it at
his own expense."

Thus it appears that Lord